The Sun Will Shine On Us Again
by towardsxthexsun
Summary: Loki died and went to Valhalla. Now he waits for his brother to join him. Post-IW and Endgame. Cross-posted on AO3.


Loki stood among ankle-high grass, picking at the palm of his hand as he waited. It would be soon now. Part of him felt guilty for the slightly thrumming joy in his chest - he was waiting for someone to die and he was happy about it - but it had been centuries and he'd watched from Valhalla as everything fell apart and slowly rebuilt and he felt that death by now would be a kindness rather than an evil.

He'd never meant to mislead Thor. I assure you brother, the sun will shine on us again. He had been talking about the afterlife, if Loki was lucky enough to get into the same one as Thor. He hadn't thought that Thor would cling to it for years, understanding something else from it, waiting for Loki to pop back up saying he'd faked his death again and "oh when will you stop falling for that, brother?"

Loki had died a stupid death, unable to think clearly while his brother was in such danger and with the creature of his nightmares right there with two stones in his gauntlet. He'd tried, he'd failed, he'd died. But at least he'd made it here, to Valhalla. He'd truly thought he'd go to Hel for all his past crimes, or for simply being a frost giant, but somehow he'd made it here.

He'd seen his mother and Odin, been unwilling to leave Frigga's side for days even while he internally berated himself for acting like a complete child. She'd given him a short lecture on how he needed to stop sacrificing himself and then kissed his forehead and told him she was proud of him and for a moment he'd been able to forget that he died and Thanos was still moving closer to his goal.

They could look down on the other realms from Valhalla and he had. He'd watched as Thor took on the power of the star to forge a new weapon (a weapon he'd had commissioned, thank you very much) and joined the battle against Thanos. He saw as Thor threw Stormbreaker and it hit Thanos square in the chest. Even though he was already dead, Loki had been practically consumed with dread as Thanos lifted the gauntlet and snapped his fingers.

In an instant, half the universe was dead.

You could never tell that from Valhalla. It was the land of eternal battles and feasts and epics. So many warriors in Valhalla had been dead for centuries, they no longer cared what happened to those still alive. Loki, though, had been unable to tear his eyes away from what was happening on Midgard.

He'd hurt Thor many times over the years. Really, their relationship until recently seemed to be based on them hurting each other, purposefully or not, through words or actions or actual violence. Still, even at his worst he doesn't think he'd ever have wanted Thor to feel like this. Loki can't do anything but watch as Thor falls into depression, as he turns towards drinking when they learn the stones have been destroyed, as he isolates himself from what little remains of Asgard.

Part of him wanted to go down to Midgard and yell at Thor. Heroes run towards their problems not away. Isn't that your philosophy? Then run towards it, damn you!

The other part knews well just how Thor felt. After Frigga's death, all Loki could feel was guilt, thinking over and over again that he'd told the Kursed to take the stairs to his left and it would have led to Frigga and he hadn't meant to but he had killed her. And even as a child Loki had often experienced similar moments of melancholy, shorter lived though they were, and an immense feeling of failure.

He kept telling himself to stop watching what was happening. He was dead, he couldn't effect what was happening on Midgard and all it did was make his heart ache because his brother didn't deserve this. But that was exactly why he had to keep watching. His death was at least partly responsible for the state Thor found himself in, he owed it to his brother to share in his sorrow.

Little happened for the next five years and then everything happened at once. In the end, Thanos was gone, those killed in the Snap returned, and Thor gave Valkyrie the kingship of New Asgard. Loki had to admit, she would be a much better ruler than any of the recent ones (including, and especially, Odin).

Things got better after that, not quickly, not in big quantities, but a little. This new team, the Guardians of the Galaxy, were good for Thor and having some mission was good for him as well. There was no sudden change - he still had panic attacks and drank and had days he seemed unwilling to move - but over time Loki could see the grief in Thor's eyes lessen.

Eventually, Loki felt comfortable looking away from his brother. Thor outlived the Guardians but there were always new allies wherever he went in the universe, new friends, and Loki felt safe in his knowledge that Thor was living instead of merely existing. He instead spent his time with his mother or talking to seidr masters of old or finding ancient texts in the one library Valhalla had (honestly how could they only have one).

He even confronted Odin once about, well, everything. Loki had gone in expecting a fight, he hadn't expected Odin to look at him and sigh and actually admit to his faults. It made things… better, though never perfect. There were centuries of anger and feeling worthless and unwanted that made that impossible.

Centuries had passed since that day on the Statesman. Despite Valhalla being unchanging, Loki certainly had changed. He felt more calm, at peace with himself in a way he never had when alive. Thor would be changed too, from Thanos and the Snap and every ally he'd made since then and every fight and loss.

He hoped Thor didn't want to punch him for dying. That would be unfair.

There was a shimmer in the air, catching Loki's attention, and suddenly a golden haired figure stood only feet from him. Thor looked just as confused as Loki imagined he had when he'd first opened his eyes to Valhalla, but the confusion was quickly replaced with wide, shock-filled eyes as lightning blue meets emerald green.

Loki's stomach was tying itself in knots. It had been so long since he'd seen Thor, and seeing him from a distance was quite different from seeing him up close. He truly had changed over the centuries and there was a distant ache in Loki's chest knowing that much of it had been a result of Thanos and the death of most of Asgard.

Still, he wasn't the one who had recently died. His lips quirked up in a smile. "Hello, brother."

In a moment, Loki was being crushed by a strong embrace, Thor's faced buried against his neck. Loki hesitated only for a moment before wrapping his arms around Thor in return. He wasn't usually one for hugs but after centuries forced apart from his brother, it felt only right.

Above them, the sun shone.


End file.
